Drake and I celebrated our 12th anniversary yesterday, which also marks the start of our thirteenth year of marriage. I was recently told that because we were married on the 13th of the month, our 13th year of marriage is supposed to be our “golden year.”
Coming on the heels of Judson’s suffering and death, it is hard to imagine how anything in life could be golden, but we do want to look expectantly at the next year. We want our hearts to be open to finding joy in our sorrow. We want to have eyes to see the grace and love of our Father, especially through our pain. We want to recognize the ways in which the Lord might choose to redeem our grief and use Judson’s story.
In fact, it is often in the dark tunnels and shafts of our life that mining for gold is most effective. I would even imagine that when the extraction of this precious element comes at a great cost, it is appreciated and valued all the more.
This year may be one of dredging, but I am committed to dredging for gold.